EAST Lancashire ME sufferers have bid for up to £300,000 to establish a centre providing comprehensive help in the fight against the condition.

Members of East Lancs ME/CFS Support Group say they have been campaigning for local provision for eight years.

Last summer the Government announced that it would provide £8.5 million to be dedicated to the provision of new services and the East Lancs group submitted a bid this month.

The East Lancs group, which has around 160 members and meets bi-monthly, was set up in 1989 to provide support to ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome sufferers. It is a potentially severe and disabling condition with affects the muscles, immune and central nervous systems.

Although awareness of the condition, which effects more than 170,000 UK adults, has increased in recent years there is still no evidence that any particular treatment is widely effective.

Jeanette Birch, group co-ordinator, said: "The Government's decision to offer money for this kind of service has been a long time coming. We have been campaigning for eight years to get some kind of services so this was brilliant news. About 10 years ago when ME wasn't recognised people were not given the right advice and some people have been permanently disabled as a result.

"There are still a lot of GPs who are unsure about diagnosis and treatment options so it is very important to have a specialist service.

"There used to be a dedicated ME clinic in Preston but the doctor retired and it folded.

"We have written hundreds of letters and local MPs have been supportive but funding has not been forthcoming before."

The group, which is working with other support groups, 11 NHS trusts and Lancashire County Council Social Services, hopes to establish a base in Preston with satellite clinics providing services throughout the county.

If the bid is accepted a Local Multi-Disciplinary support team would also be established, which would include a consultant, specialist nurse, clinical psychologist and physio support worker, to run the services.

The team would also be responsible for delivering training programmes to GPs and establish services for the most severely affected sufferers in their own homes.

If the bid is approved the money will be paid over two years and the Government would give additional funding to maintain the service after that.

Peter Pike, MP for Burnley, said: "I support this cause. ME is a condition that medically is not fully understood and obviously this causes major problems for those who have it.

"There are a lot more people than people realise with this and sometimes they can be dismissive of it but it can be catastrophic and destroy lives.

"The government is slowly recognising that it is a problem and I welcome that and anything that can help people locally."